HUDSON COUNTY — U.S. Rep. Donald M. Payne hasn’t faced a major-party challenge for his congressional seat in years.

This time around, the ballot carries the name of Michael J. Alonso, a 28-year-old Republican neophyte who decided to take on New Jersey’s first African-American congressman when he was knocking on doors in his since-aborted candidacy for a ward seat in his native Bayonne.

"One in every 5 doorbells we rang, they said they tried to contact him," Alonso said of Payne, "and have gotten no response."

Hence, the first GOP challenger to Payne since 2002, when Payne trounced V. Andrew Wirtz with 84.5 percent of the vote.

Those sort of pluralities have been the norm for Payne, the head of a Newark political dynasty, as he now enters the final stretch of his 12th campaign for the 10th District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

He begs to differ with Alonso’s sentiment that the 76-year-old Payne has been busy advancing resolutions on international issues — such as supporting malaria awareness and peace in Somalia — rather than homegrown ones.

"He hasn’t really reviewed my record," said Payne, who chairs a House subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. "I’m proud of the record I have in international activities. I have not sacrificed the district for that. The district has not suffered."

To Payne, the top issues in this election cycle are the need to protect Social Security and Medicare, cut taxes for the middle class and renew the nation’s manufacturing base to create good-paying jobs at home.

As for Alonso, he trumpets "smaller government," deems Medicaid and welfare "ineffective" and in need of reform and asserts that America is at a crossroads, asked to chose between government spending and free markets.

At Payne’s heels, too, are two independents. Joanne Miller, a substitute teacher from Newark, is using the slogan "Agent of Change." She said she is an advocate of term limits. Robert Louis Toussaint of Maplewood is running under the slogan "Action. No Talk" and maintains a campaign website, toussaintforcongress.com. He could not be reached for comment.

Payne is keenly aware that mid-term elections are typically a time when the majority party loses seats, particularly in a struggling economy.

"There are definitely severe problems," Payne said. "Like everywhere else, the economics of the Bush years put us in such a deep hole, it’s really going to take a while to come out of it I understand that even people in my own district are not very happy. I certainly don’t take anything for granted."

He mentions his work with First Lady Michelle Obama in fighting childhood obesity, a particular problem in the urban areas he represents, and his work to bolster public education. He noted that he was working with Seton Hall University, his alma mater, to capture "Race to the Top" funding so the university could institute a program to train urban teachers. That $400 million in funding was subsequently lost in a much-publicized "mistake" in the Christie administration.

"I went to public schools," said Payne, a one-time teacher who sits on the House Committee on Education and Labor. "That’s really what separates the United States of America from the rest of the world. ... Somehow we have to turn that around."

Alonso, who like Payne is a Seton Hall grad, is a real estate agent, runs a party-planning firm and is pursuing a master’s in criminal justice at New Jersey City University. His website posts his string of "roundtable" events at libraries and seeks $5 donations to finance his candidacy. "I definitely feel people are going to vote for the person, not the party, this year," he said of his chances.

All along, he’s advocating less government — at least to some degree.

"We are for lower taxes, but I am not a Tea Party member," Alonso said. "I don’t think abolishing the IRS is going to work."

CONGRESS - 10TH DISTRICT

One 2-year term

DONALD M. PAYNE*
Party: Democrat
Age: 76
Hometown: Newark
Occupation: Congressman
Family: Widower; three children; four grandchildren, one great-grand child
Political experience: First elected to Congress in 1988; member, House Committee on Education and Labor; Newark municipal council; Essex County freeholder.
Top 3 issues:
Protect Social Security and Medicare.
Cut taxes for the middle class to create jobs.
Make it in America: Renew manufacturing base, create good-paying jobs here at home

MICHAEL J. ALONSO
Party: Republican
Age: 28
Hometown: Bayonne
Occupation: Real estate agent, party-planner, master’s candidate at New Jersey City University.
Family: Single
Political experience: Abandoned run for Bayonne City Council to seek congressional seat.
Top 3 issues:
Encourage private-sector job creation. Companies are hording cash because they are uncertain of the future cost of doing business, something lower corporate tax rates would address.
Lower taxes for the middle class.
Reform the educational system to be better able to compete in a global economy.